


Gear Drop

by R_S



Category: One Piece
Genre: Hurt, M/M, Post-Timeskip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-05
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-18 07:03:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5903320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_S/pseuds/R_S
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by cannon episode 728.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gear Drop

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own One Piece or any of its related materials.

The night moved so slowly, each surge of the sea followed by subsequent drop, like the breath of the Blue. With each of those breaths Sunny’s Adam timbers whispered. Woodish creaks only Franky could understand. 

“Oi, Shit-for-brains.” 

“What do you want, Ero-cook.” 

“Make sure he gets up to eat.” 

Zoro’s arms tighten around red coat and slight shoulders. Sanji pulling out a pack of cigarettes, tapping one free. The one blue eye that’s showing from behind straw-gold blonde is lax, expression honed and held in close. After a long puff, exhaled through both nostrils, Sanji simply sighs. He leaves. 

He has breakfast to make. 

Luffy hung to Zoro’s torso with both arms wrapped around twice. Usopp and Chopper grumpily getting up on the far end of the room, Usopp poking at Franky as they yawn and stretch. It was early still, for them, and they hadn’t slept hardly at all. But they all had things to do. 

Damages to the ship don’t just repair themselves. 

“How did he sleep, Zoro?” Chopper pipes, little hooves rubbing sleep from his eyes and he yawns. 

“Fine.” Zoro lies. 

Chopper can tell. 

“Zoro-”

“Fine.” Interjects the swordsman. He’s not going to let Chopper talk about this. Not going to happen! 

Usopp’s just gotten his overalls buttoned, looking for his leaf-pad-hat when the ship drops sharply over a swell. They sway, because they are Pirates after all. Well-used to rough waters. 

“Neh! Z-Zoro!!” Luffy is not awake. Not really. His eyes are open, yea. But that doesn’t automatically mean ‘awake’. 

Everyone is quiet, waves of haki washing paneled walls and plank floor. Seeping into the soul of the Sunny, until the very sea calms. Each wave declining in size until they existed only in murmur. Speaking blended apologies. 

“Anything you need?” Usopp asks, the first to speak as he bends to pick up his hat from the floor under his box hammock. 

Zoro doesn’t answer. Eyes to the wall, away from his Nakama. Chopper and Usopp and Franky wait. And wait. But this is Zoro. They know they can wait for days, weeks even. If Zoro wasn’t ready to talk, none of them were going to get him to do it. 

There’s a knock outside the men’s quarters door, and Chopper’s first to answer it. Nami’s standing in the doorway, morning sunshine behind her, making her hair flutter like fire. She’s stepped inside while everyone except Zoro and Luffy leave. When the door clacks shut again, she’s locked eyes with Zoro. 

“How is he?” She asks. 

“Fine.” Zoro lies. 

She knows. “Don’t bullshit me, Zoro!” 

“Neh!” Luffy’s head lolls from one side of Zoro’s chest to the other, his extended arms warm around his first mate. He doesn’t wake up. 

Nami silently fumes where she stands, pacing once across the room and back. “What about you?” she asks quietly. “Are you sleeping?” 

Zoro gave a scowl that Nami had seen before. Halfway to exhaustion, but closer to a rage undefinable by humankind. Weather he’s slept or not isn’t her business. However, Nami’s turned and out the door without waiting for a reply. 

“Waha-hawn~” Luffy’s yawning, his jaw thrown so wide the bones disjoint before snapping back into place. Zoro waits after the yawn. After he licks his lips in his sleep and nuzzles black hair under Zoro’s chin.

“Fourth gear, eh?” Zoro’s arms tighten around his captain. Green eyes fixed forward on the far wall where a line of round windows let in the new day. Gold sun and blue sky. Placing a single kiss on Luffy’s forehead, Zoro rests his head back. Zoro isn’t sure yet about Luffy’s new technique and when Luffy wakes up he’s got some damn important questions to answer. 

Zoro closes his eye. Luffy’s steady heartbeat thrumming warm against his chest. He counts those beats, times them, matches them with his own. He’ll keep listening there. To the sound of Luffy’s life. Until he wakes.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!


End file.
